NEW YORK (Reuters) - Discount retailer Target Corp <TGT.N>
on Thursday reported disappointing November results and said
sales need to "meaningfully improve" in December to achieve
fourth-quarter earnings-per-share growth.

The retailer said sales were soft in the last week of
November and if weak sales trends continue, its December
same-store sales, which measure sales at stores open at least a
year, will fall short of its previous forecast.

Target, whose shares fell 3.4 percent to $58.06 in
pre-market trade, said sales at stores open at least a year
rose 10.8 percent in November, which was in line with analysts'
average forecast.

But adjusted for a calendar shift, the retailer said
November same-store sales rose 1.1 percent, missing analysts'
expectations of a gain of 3 percent, according to Reuters
Estimates.

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Target earlier this month said it expected November sales
at stores open at least a year to rise between 2 and 4 percent,
adjusted for the calendar shift, but to rise in the
low-double-digit percentage range without the adjustment.

Net retail sales for the four weeks ended December 1 rose
16.7 percent, to $5.97 billion from $5.12 billion for the
comparable period a year ago.

Sales were strongest in automotive, health care and
consumable goods while they were weak in toys, seasonal holiday
items and jewelry, it said.

FORECAST FOR DECEMBER

Target had said that for November and December, its
same-store sales would be affected by a change in the monthly
retail calendar this year compared with last year. An extra
week on last year's retail calendar has created monthly periods
this year that are not exactly comparable to year-ago results.

Due to the shift, Target said seven additional
post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping days will fall in November
this year compared with a year ago, but six fewer pre-Christmas
days will fall in December.

It said on Thursday that if weak sales trends continue, its
December same-store sales would fall short of its forecast.

Previously, the retailer had projected that December
same-store sales would rise 3 to 5 percent on a
calendar-adjusted basis.

Excluding the calendar adjustment, it forecast that
December same-store sales would fall in the low-single-digit
range.